Quake shakes central Afghanistan

KABUL (Reuters) - A strong earthquake measuring 5.9 struck central Afghanistan Monday but there were no immediate reports of any casualties.

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) said on its website the quake's magnitude was 5.9 and its epicentre was at a depth of 10 km (6 miles) and 70 km (45 miles) southeast of the capital, Kabul. The quake occurred at about 3.26 am local time.

Thousands of people were killed by earthquakes in northern Badakhshan province in the late 1990s.

On March 25, 2002, at least 1,500 people were killed when a series of quakes of between magnitude 5 and 6 struck northern Baghlan province in the Hindu Kush mountains, destroying the district capital of Nahrin.

(Writing by Jonathon Burch; Editing by Valerie Lee)